SmallBusinessNewz

Symantec has taken time to remind us about the dark side of the holiday season. The security company is warning businesses not to let their guards down too much as holiday parties take place this month.

The company says that as we head into the holiday season, it is expected that "alcohol-fueled forgetfulness" will see many work laptops and smartphones left in bars and varying forms of public transport as employees "raise a glass to celebrate." Symantec notes that in an increasingly mobile workforce, the number of corporate devices with sensitive data on them is growing.

"Christmas parties are a time to let your hair down and have fun. However, losing a work laptop or smartphone could leave you with more than just a hangover," says Chi-Chi Liang, Senior Product Marketing Manager for Data Loss Prevention, EMEA Symantec. "If your business doesn’t operate daily back-ups then it may not be able to recover your precious corporate information. The worst case scenario will be if the device has fallen into the wrong hands, as it poses an incredible security risk. A criminal will be able to use the unprotected laptop or smartphone to access very sensitive corporate information – which they could then sell for considerable profit in the black market.”

Symantec says the following ten things are the most common documents a cybercriminal will try to access if your device falls into the wrong hands:

1. Your credit card information
2. Your employee information e.g. employee ID, salary and benefit information, personal health information
3. Sensitive customer data e.g. name, date of birth, national ID number
4. Price lists
5. Design documents
6. Source code
7. M&A contracts
8. High net worth client lists
9. Marketing plans
10. Financial earnings reports (during quiet period)

Symantec recommends you keep laptops and smartphones locked with strong passwords. They also mention that users shouldn't forget about physical security, suggesting locking laptops down with cables and locks, and keeping PDAs in locked cases.

This is one of those "it won't happen to me" kind of things, but that's always how it is until it does happen to you. It doesn't hurt to be cautious. If you don't keep sensitive data on such devices, it's probably not as much of a concern.